1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to flooring and, more particularly, to a floor that includes an image embedded therein that is visible from above the floor, along with an associated method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous varied types of flooring are known and understood in the relevant art. Floors often include a substrate that is cementitious or wooden and often also include a top treatment in the form of carpet, tile, paint, decorative wood, and the like. Such top treatments are selected according to numerous criteria including aesthetic appearance, comfort, durability, resistance to elements, as well as other factors. For instance, a given structure such as a residence may include multiple different floors such as carpet on a wooden substrate in a bedroom, tile on a wooden substrate in a bathroom, wood parquet tiles on a wooden substrate in a dining area, stone on a cementitious substrate in an entryway, and paint on a cementitious substrate in a garage or basement.
While such various types of floors have been effective for their intended purposes, such floors have not, however, been without limitation. The vast majority of commercially available flooring is mass produced, meaning that a person desiring to install a floor in a structure or otherwise must choose from among the floors that are then currently available with virtually no opportunity to select a custom floor. Even in the circumstance where one selects, for instance, natural stone that will be painstakingly installed by hand, the stone still possesses an appearance that is substantially the same as all of the other stone within the same product line that is provided by a stone quarry or stonemonger. Alternatively, while numerous shades of carpet are commercially available, such carpets typically have an appearance that is calculated to appeal to a wide variety of potential purchasers and thus are likewise generally unsuited to applications in which a highly individual or custom appearance is desired. It thus can be seen that the types of flooring which are commercially available are generally unsuited to applications in which it is desired to achieve custom appearance.
It has been known, of course, that a flooring substrate can be stenciled or painted by hand, such as when standard basketball court markings are applied to wooden flooring of a gymnasium. Such a process is extremely laborious, and the floor that results from the process or other such processes is generally highly susceptible to wear. Moreover, the quality of the resulting image is limited by the manual artistic skills of the artists involved.
It thus desired to provide an improved floor and associated method in which the floor includes an image that is visible from above the floor. The image could provide a custom appearance and preferably could include one or more of designs, patterns, pictures, symbols, and the like, and also preferably would be highly durable and suited to withstand the environment in which the floor is placed.
An improved floor and associated method in accordance with the present invention meets these needs and others. Such a floor includes a substrate and an image, with the image being visible from above the floor. The image is formed on a carrier sheet that is embedded within a coating disposed upon an upper surface of the substrate. The coating is substantially translucent and is highly durable. The carrier sheet becomes substantially invisible when embedded in the coating such that the image remains visible from above the floor and appears to be embedded therein. An associated method is also disclosed.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved floor that includes an image.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved floor that can be configured to have a custom appearance.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved floor that is highly resistant to wear.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved floor that is capable of being individually tailored to meets specific needs.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved method of forming a floor that includes an image which is visible from above the floor.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved method of forming a floor in which a preexisting substrate can be retrofitted to include an image and thereby form an improved floor, with the image being visible from above the floor.
These aspects and others are achieved by an improved floor in accordance with the present invention, the general nature of which can be stated as including a substrate having an upper surface, a substantially translucent and solid coating disposed on at least a portion of the upper surface, a carrier sheet covered by the coating, and the carrier sheet including an image, at least a portion of which is visible through the coating from above the floor.
Other aspects of the present invention are met by an improved method of forming a floor, with the floor including an image that is visible from above the floor, wherein the general nature of the method can be stated as including the steps of applying a coating to a substrate, providing a carrier sheet that includes the image, placing the carrier sheet in contact with the coating, and curing the coating to retain the carrier sheet in contact with the coating.